Review of To Die with Honor

Chinese directors making historical war movies seem to have a simple formula. Find out how many participated in the actual battle and then hire that many extras. This movie is like "Saving Private Ryan" only with bigger battle scenes. Major battles are lavishly and realistically portrayed making the point that virtuous kung fu is no match for artillery and Gatling guns. The Chinese characters are fully fleshed out and well acted from the wily old general who comes out of retirement to fight the French to corrupt Imperial officials profiting from the war. The French are one dimensional, evil, greedy, heartless and willing to kill innocent peasants without compunction. Reminds us of the way many directors portray Asian enemies in American war movies. A word about the cinematography: outstanding. The opening scene is an overhead shot of a troop of Chinese calvary winding through the forest to a river. As they cross, we are suddenly taken underwater to watch alligators attack the calvary. It adds zero to the plot, but every second is breathtaking. Just like the rest of the movie.